Photo by Manon MirabelliCongamond Lakes residents in Southwick and Suffield are criticizing a proposed fee that would finance increase patrols on the water.SOUTHWICK – A proposed boat permitting program is being denounced by Southwick and Suffield residents who feel stiffer lake usage fees should be imposed on out-of-towners who come to their towns to use Congamond Lakes.
The local permitting program is drawing the ire of the Southwick and Suffield residents who attended Monday’s Board of Selectmen meeting and said they feel they are being unfairly taxed to use the natural resource that is part of the communities.
The proposed program calls for boat sticker fees for any registered vessel moored or docked on Congamond Lakes to be paid in the amount of $40 per year for non-residents, $10 for lakefront residents and $20 for lakefront residents who rent.
The planned use for the fees, officials said, is to increase police presence on the lake waters.
But any lake usage fees, residents said, are unfair to the property owners who pay taxes while the lake is abused by out-of-town day users.
“This program is being sold to us as a bill of goods for safety improvement,” said Suffield resident Michael Saridakis. “You haven’t said how you’re going to improve safety. It’s not really spelled-out because you don’t even understand it. Why are lake residents being made responsible?”
Arthur G. Pinell, chair of the Board of Selectmen responded that a full-time lake patrol would cost Southwick $100,000, which is not feasible.
Lake Management Committee Chairman Richard T. Grannells said a stronger part-time presence could be provided with the $20,000 per year collected from lake usage and boat sticker fees.
Grannells added that the number of boats launched from the lake’s two ramps was 800 and that 600 of those were registered power boats.
For the last 10 years, lake visitors with boats have been paying a $5 launch fee, which is a state charge used to pay for the maintenance and management of the state-owned boat launch areas controlled by the state fishing and boating department.
Residents also complained that the boat sticker program has not been well-planned with confusion surrounding the purchase of the stickers.
Arthur G. Pinell, chair of the Board of Selectmen, said the distribution of the stickers has become an issue for marina owners who have been asked to collect the fees and distribute the stickers.
“We want to clarify how that will unfold so that the marina owners feel comfortable,” Pinell said.
Lake Management Committee Chairman Richard T. Grannells said marina owners were targeted as the point people to make the process easier during the times Town Hall is closed, but Pinell suggested coming up with an alternate plan that will not make the business people responsible for the municipal program.
“We need to look at different venues for people to get their stickers,” Pinell said. “We know now that we don’t want to impose on marina owners.”
Grannells has said that about 450 homeowners, comprised roughly of 60 percent Southwick residents and about 40 percent Suffield residents, now have the option of obtaining either a state license or local permit to use Congamond Lakes, which all fall within Massachusetts.
“It’s one of those things where some are please and some aren’t,” he said. “We’re giving people the option – this is the lesser of two evils.”
According to state Department of Environmental Protection regulations, all water structures must be licensed with the state or permitted locally. The local permitting process, which has already received a preliminary nod by the state while the town awaits formal approval, is voluntary while a state license is mandatory.
By creating a local permit, Grannells noted, town officials have taken control of the lakes.
“This allows us to manage the lakes locally,” he said. “We will have control of all fees.”